One of the primary objectives of the Integrated Energy System Modeling and Policy Analysis Research Program at IIASA is to identify usage and supply patterns in each of the three regions under study. This paper is a first step in that direction. It provides an initial overview of some of the important demographic, geographic and energy characteristics of the German Democratic Republic, the Rhone-Alpes region of France, and The State of Wisconsin in the U.S.A. The data are meant to reveal some similarities and differences among the three regions as well as to provide a foundation for assessing modeling techniques which will be used in this research program and to formulate the policy questions which will form a cornerstone of the comparative approach.